Power transmission



Mw 26,1942.. C. ANERACHER ETA@ 2,284.22@-

POWER TRANSMI S S ION Original Filed May 9, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS.

.May 26, w42 n c. A. NERACHER ET ALv .2,284,224

POWER TRANSMISS ION Original Filed May 9, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS' May 26, 194i c. A. NERACHER ET Al. @9284224 POWER TRANSMISSION Original Filed May 9, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v 4 0 WSe'g/g BMMMMM ATTORN EY- Meme" M" 261942 f 412,284,224

UNITED STATES PATENT ,.Q'FpE POWER TRANSMISSION 272,734. Divided and this application April w29, 1940, Serial No.332,190,

3 Claims. (Cl. 'I4-473) This application relates to power transmissions and is a division of our copending application, Serial No. 272,734, led on May 9, 1939, entitled Power transmission.

It is the principal object of the invention as 5 claimed herein to provide an improved mechanism for manually shifting gears ln a vehicle transmission which is simple in form, economical-to manufacture and which permits smooth and easy operation.

More particularly, the principal advantage in our improved manually shiftable transmission control mechanism resides in the novel selector means located in the transmission casing which permits selection between the two transmission l5 shifter railsl in a positive manner and Without undue expenditure of eiort on the part of the vehicle driver.

In the embodiment of our invention as disclosed in the aforesaid copending application, 20

We have provided a transmission employing countershaft gearing and providing four forward speeds and reverse. Manual selection may` be made to high and low ranges in each of which an automatic shift occurs to a faster 25 Inasmuch as the details of the automatic shift- 390 ing mechanism and the controls therefor have no particular bearing on the subject matter claimed herein, they will be referred to by reference numerals only when necessary to make the description clear. For a fuller explanation of 35 the entire transmission, reference may be had to our copending application mentioned above.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the power 40 plant and transmission for a motor vehicle.

Fig. 2 is a plan view somewhat diagrammatically illustrating the power transmission assembly inrelation to the vehicle driving wheels.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the remote control 115 hand shift mechanism taken as indicated by the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the Fig. 3 mechanism taken as indicated by line 4 4 of Fig. 1.'

Fig. 5 is a sectional view along line 5-5 of 50 Fig 1 showing a portion of the remote control shift mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional view taken as indicated by the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view looking 55 practice.-

ment.

safer-zure transmission f* rearwardly as indicated by `theline'l-l of Fig. l and illustrating the transmissionjportion of the remote shift mechanism.Vv f j Fig. 8 is a detailed sectional view taken as indicated by the line 8-8 o'fFig. 7. j

Fig. 9 is a sectional-plan view taken as indicated by the line 9-9 ofFig.j7 4

We have illustrated the principles of our invention in connection vwith va motor vehicle wherein'the usual engine A transmits its drive through clutching means B` positioned within casing 50, the drive thenpassingy through the vchange speed mechanism .D andprop'eller shaft 5l (Fig. 2) to 'the differentialiZand thence to the vehicleground wheels 53where it isdesired to drive the rearv wheels ac'cordingto present 'day The engine A has the customary intake'manifold 54 and carburetor' riser"55` containing a throttle valve 56 operable by alever 57 throughout a range betweenthe illustrated closed throttle position vfor engine idlingand` awidej'open position'limited Ybyleveriil engaging a stop 58. Lever 51 is'y adjusted by a driver operable accelerator'p'edal 59L pivota'llymounted'jat60 on the toe-board 6i l'toswing downwardly against'restoring spring 62 to thrustthroughthe, system of `pivotallyl jointed 4lir'iksfG-Zi, 641 aiidA-connectin'g lever 165, l the latter "being pivotally'supported` at The engine A V#has the ustial crankshaft which is adapted to drive the transmissioninputshaft 83 (Fig.Qi-througlra' ,iiuid coupling'and afriction' clutchint shovvr?? fhicli'arefcontained in thefhousing 5u;'#*clrutcli,pegdjal-r 8 pmvidedife; manipulatingthe@friction 'clut' and is adaltd to disengagetlle'clutcli upon 'wa'rdgdepress'ion and' to f engage' tlief utchf'upon rearwardfmove.-

'f @shaft-' extends rear formed with au, O'f'zekte'rnl* cluster 91 rotatable on a countershaft 98. The cluster 91 is formed with reduction gear |01 and reversegear |08, the gear |01 being constantly meshed with the low speed gear ||4 journaled on the driven shaft 93 and having a forward extension formed with clutch teeth ||5. The

reverse gear |06 is adapted to mesh with the reverse idler gear ||1 (Figs. 7 and 8) when the latter is slid forwardly on its countershaft ||8. At such time, the idler ||1 is also meshed with a gear ||9 fixed on the driven shaft 93.

'I'he arrangement is such that shaft 93 may be selectively clutched at the will of the driver with gears |4 and |09, the control comprising a manually operable remote shift mechanism suitably connected to a shift sleeve H. The operation of clutch shift sleeve F previously mentioned is, on the other hand, automatic Vin its operation of clutching driving shaft 83 with gear `|09 or disconnecting these parts for reduction gear drive. As previously mentioned, the automatic phase of the transmission will not be described herein, reference being madel to our copending application, Serial Number 272,734, for a description thereof.

The manual clutching control comprises the following mechanism. Fixed to the driven shaft 93 is a hub |20 (see Fig. 7) formed with external teeth I 2| slidably engaged with the internal teeth |22 of the shiftable clutch sleeve H which is adapted for forward and rearward shift by a yoke |23 fixed to a longitudinally extending shift rail |24 disposed to one side of shaft 93 adjacent the side opening |25 of casing 89.

Suitable synchronizing blocker rings having cammed teeth |28 and |29 which have a pitch circle the same as that of sleeve teeth |22 and teeth ||2 and ||5 respectively are adapted to block shift of the sleeve H into engagement with the teeth 2 and ||5 unless the hub |20 is rotating synchronously therewith. The synchronizing blocker rings are more fully described and claimed in the copending application of O. E. Fishburn, Serial No. 180,840, filed December 20, 1937. The particular ltype of synchronizing blocker ring used has no bearing on the present invention. Any suitable type that will synchronize the parts to be shifted and block shift of sleeve H until the coacting power transmitting members to be engaged are rotating synchronously may be used. l

The yoke |23 is provided with a boss I3| below rail |24 (Figs. 7 and 9) this boss having a slot |32 adapted to be engaged by an inwardly extending pin 33 carried by a lever |34. This lever has a lower end |35 adapted to engage a slot |38 of a yoke |31 iixed to the reverse shift rail |38 which is disposed parallel to and below rail |24. The yoke |31 engages the collar portion |39 of the shiftable reverse idler gear ||1 (Fig. 8). Rails |24 and |38 are interlocked by a plunger |40 to prevent their simultaneous displacement.

Lever |34 is supported between its ends by a pin I |4| disposed parallel to and above rail |24, this pin being carried by the inner-yoked end |42 of shaft |43 rotatably mounted in the boss |44 of a cover |45 secured by fasteners |46 to the opening |25 of casing 89. The shaft |43 has its axis extending across the axis of movement of rails |24 and |38 and has a leverV |41 xed to its innerend outside of the cover |45. A spring |48 reacts on shaft |43 and yieldingly urges lever. |34 clockwise (Fig. 7) about the pin |4I, thus tending to maintain pin |33 engaged in slot |32 and end |35 75 free from slot |38.- A spring pressed ball detent |49 yieldingly maintains rail |24 in neutral, forwardly (to clutch sleeve H with teeth ||2) or rearwardly (to clutch sleeve H with teeth Ill) by 'engagement of this ball detent vwith the rail recesses |50, |6| and |52, respectively. The re-` verse rail |38 has neutral and reverse positioning recesses |53 and |54 which are respectively engaged selectively by a second 'spring pressed ball detent (not shown) in juxtaposed relation to the rail |38.

'I'he upper end of lever |34 has a wide face |58 engageable with the inner end of a plunger |51 slidably inwardly through the cover |45 by a Bowden wire operating mechanism |58. When the wire |58 is pushed, the plunger |51 engages lever face |56 to swing the lever |34 so that the end |35 engages slot |38 while pin |33 disengages slot |32. In such position the shaft |43 may bey rotated to shift rail |38 to mesh reverse idler ||1 with gears |08 and ||9 thereby to establish reverse drive. 'Ihe plunger |61 maintains a sliding engagement with lever face |58 during this rotation of shaft |43. The remote control mechanism for effecting control of lever |41 and Bowden wire |58 will now be described, reference being had to Figs. 1, 3 and 4 particularly.

The fixed steering post |59 houses the usual steeringshaft |60 operated by hand steering wheel |6|. Rotatably journalledwithin post |59 is a hollow shaft assembly |62 connected by pivot pins |63 with the yoked inner end |64 of the manually operable selector element or shift lever |65 which extends outwardly through an arcuate opening |66 formed in the head |61 fixed to post |59. Movement of lever |65 fore and aft about the axis of shaft |62 will oscillate this shaft while movement of the lever up and down will rock the lever about a fulcrum |68 to cause reciprocation of shaft |62 longitudinally of its axis.

At the lower end of shaft |62 there is a lever |69 flxed thereto, this lever having an intermediate wide face portion |10 always engaged by the upper end of a plunger |1| fixed to the upper end of the Bowden wire |58. A spring |12 operates to yieldingly urge plunger |1| into engagement with the lower surface of the portion |10 and plunger |51 positioned as in Fig. 7 free of lever face |58. A link |13 has its forward end pivotally engaged with the outer end of lever |89, the rear end of this link being connected with a bellcrank lever |14 pivotally mounted on the engine A at |15. The bellcrank lever operates a second link |18 which has articulated connection with transmission shift lever |41.

. In order to shift sleeve H into engagement with the teeth ||5 of low speed drive gear ||4, the operator disengages the main clutch by depressing pedal 84 and then swings lever |65 forwardly or counterclockwise from neutral as viewed in Fig. 4. This pushes the lever |41 for rearward swinging movement and serves to shift rail |24 and sleeve H rearwardly. Pedal 84 is then released whereupon the vehicle may be driven forwardly in low range. Shift of lever |85 clockwise will slide rail |24 and sleeve H forwardly to clutch with the teeth ||2 of the gear |09 to position the transmission mechanism for drive in high range.

`In either low range or high range setting of the shift sleeve H, the automatic mechanism of the transmission is operable to shift sleeve F to provide a reductionror direct drive. Y Thus it may be seenthat there are four available forward speeds depending on manipulation of the manually shiftable mechanism and the automatic shift mechanism. A

In order to effect reverse drive, the lever |65 is rst rocked upwardly while in neutral position to thereby push downwardly through shaft |62 to cause lever portion |10 to operate through the Bowden wire |58 to swing lever |34 counterclockwise about the shaft |4| thereby to engage lever end |35 with-slot |36 of yoke |31. Then the lever |65 is shifted-clockwise of the steering column to cause lever |41 to rock the lever |34 to effect forward shift of rail |38 thereby to mesh idler ||1 with gears |08 and H9. It is understood, of course, that clutch C is preferably released during shift of sleeve H.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with a particular transmission mechanism embodying an automatic phase of operation, it is desired to point out that no substantialchanges would have to be made in the manually shiftable mechanism in order to adapt it to 1 1. In a motor vehicle power` transmission having a pair of selectively operable drive control elements, a pair of rails mounted for shifting movement relative to each other along parallel axes, means operably connecting said rails respectively with said drive control elements, an operating member mounted for oscillatory movement about `an axis transverse to said parallel axes to impart shifting movement to said rails, a lever pivotally mounted on said operating member for swinging relative thereto about an axis transverse to said axis of oscillation for selectively operably connecting said operating member with said rails, a remotely disposed shiftable transmission control lever, means for mounting said control lever for shifting movement along transversely connected paths of the same general direction, means including a Bowden cable for imparting swinging movement to said pivotally mounted lever in response to shift of said control lever between said paths, and means including links for oscillating said operating member in response to shift of said control lever along said paths.

2. In a motor vehicle power transmission, in y combination, a casing having mounted therein a pair of selectively operable drive control elements, a pair of rails mounted in vertically spaced relation'in said casing for shifting movement relative to each other along parallel axes, means operably connecting said rails respectively with said drive control elements, an oscillatory operating member mounted in one side of said casing, a lever pivotally carried by said operating member and adapted to swing relative thereto to selectively operably connect said operating member with said rails, means carried by said operating member for constantly urging said lever into engagement with one of said rails, an actuating element operably associated with said lever but unconnected thereto, and means for operating said actuating element to swing said lever out of engagement with saidV one rail and into engagement with the other of said rails.

3. In a motor vehicle power transmission, in combination, a casing having mounted therein a pair of selectively operable drive control elements, a pair of rails mounted lin vertically spaced relation in said casing for shifting movement relative to each other along parallel axes, means operably connecting said rails respectively with said drive control elements, a detach-v able cover for said casing adapted for mounting on one side thereof, an oscillatory operating member carried by said cover, a lever pivotally carried by said operating member and adapted to swing relative`thereto to selectively operably connect said operating member with said rails, a spring carried by said operating member in engagement with said lever for urging the same into engagement with one of said rails, an actuating element operably associated withl said lever but unconnected thereto, and means for operating said actuating element to swing said lever out of engagement with said one rail and into engagement with the other of said rails.

CARL A. NERACHER.

WILLIAM T. DUNN.

TENO IAVELLI.

AUGUSTIN J. SYROVY.

' OTTO W. SCHOTZ. 

